#tgd parallels

[dailypsyfacts]

Treating Mental Health Disorders With LSD?

Welcome to my second blog post! Today, I brought an interesting topic that has gained some attention in the media recently. It’s about the legalisation of LSD in Australia. Just a disclaimer, this is not a promotion for drugs! This is only legal in a clinical setting with a professional supervisor accompanying the process. Sorry to disappoint. So, how come Australia is the only country where LSD has been legalised?

It all started when Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann (1906-2008) accidentally discovered that lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) has hallucinogenic effects. He and Western scientists then started to research the psychedelic substance for medical purposes. LSD had already been marketed as a treatment for anxiety disorders and for use in psychiatric research by the pharmaceutical firm – Sandoz – Hofmann worked for. Unfortunately, LSD soon became a drug of recreational use outside the scientific realm. Its purpose then quickly went from potential therapeutic effects to inducing an altered state of consciousness purely for pleasure and casual use. Hence, it’s been banned in the late 1960’s which also stopped the medical research in psychedelic substances. However, the research into LSD came back again in the 1990’s and has gradually increased since then (Houseofswitzerland.org, 2020).  

It turns out Albert Hofmann accidentally synthesised LSD when working on a parasitic fungus that grows on rye in 1938. A few years later, in 1943, he must have accidentally absorbed a trace of the substance as he started to feel strange sensations. These sensations, however, raised his interest in the chemical, so he decided to run more tests. At some point, he intentionally ingested what he thought was a tiny amount (0.25 mg) for the first time without knowing what it would do. He would soon find out, when he experienced the first ‘bad trip’ in history of LSD when he made his way home on his bicycle, that this was a massive dose. He described his surroundings as a parallel universe with distorted pictures. It’s a good job his laboratory assistant was with him as he couldn’t remember cycling home but rather felt like he couldn’t move from the spot – despite a very rapid journey according to his assistant. Interestingly, he mentioned that he felt completely powerless in terms of using his mental abilities to sort of ‘wake up’ or put an end to this. No matter how much physical or perceived energy he would try to force, it was useless. He also mentioned the dissolution of his ego. Hofmann’s conclusion was that LSD is too risky outside of a controlled environment and was therefore against the recreational use of LSD, but he did say that it always has its place for the purpose of exploring the human soul and coping with life’s anxieties (Houseofswitzerland.org, 2020).

This nicely leads into my next point as it is precisely the reason it has been legalised in Australia. Just last month, on February 3, 2023, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGD) in Australia has officially allowed the psychedelics MDMA and psilocybin for medical use as of July 1, 2023. MDMA – otherwise known as the active ingredient in ecstasy – and psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – will be treatment options for PTSD and treatment-resistant depression, respectively. Precisely, Australia has authorised MDMA which mimics LSD in a way by invoking feelings of depersonalisation and altered perception and thought without the overt hallucinatory effects which doesn’t make it a classical psychedelic. Researchers assume that MDMA acts by increasing the reuptake and release of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Another factor may be an enhanced release of oxytocin. The results of studies involving MDMA show highly significant results that almost make you wonder why they’re not used more often around the world. It only took three MDMA-assisted therapy sessions for 67% of participants to no longer qualify for a PTSD diagnosis (MAPS, 2021). 88% of participants within the same study significantly reduced their symptoms. Jennifer Mitchell, lead author of the paper, says that what seems to make MDMA so effective is that it raises compassion and understanding while reducing fear. Other studies came to the same conclusion of substantial clinical benefit and a cost-saving effect for third-party payers (Marseille et al., 2020). Especially, PTSD patients with a dissociative subtype seem to show great results. Mitchell further notes that MDMA may help patients to confront and overcome their trauma instead of distancing themselves from a trauma and avoiding to cope with it, if the right mindset and an appropriate environmental (clinical) setting is given (Mackenzie, 2021). This could be what Hofmann was implying by exploring the human soul and coping with life’s anxieties.

Psilocybin, too, includes LSD and even the neurotransmitter serotonin. Dephosphorisation leads to the psychedelic being able to cross the blood-brain barrier and can easily activate the serotonin 5-HT2A receptor given its structural similarity (Mackenzie, 2021). By activating this specific receptor, scientists assume that this activates the psychedelic effects. However, these effects are highly dose-dependent which is why heightened perception, imagery, complex hallucinations and distortions can occur if measured inappropriately. Scientists theorise that psilocybin alters the thalamic gating in the brain and increases the activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is impaired in patients with depression (Mackenzie, 2021). Psilocybin has been directly compared to the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram in a clinical trial. The result was that psilocybin could keep up with the antidepressant effects and may even invoke a deeper and faster effect (Carhart-Harris et al., 2021). However, only 59 people took part which lowered the power and significance of the study.

This raises the question then why drugs like alcohol or sugar are legal, when LSD-involving psychedelics such as MDMA and psilocybin and their possible benefits aren’t?  

Indeed, psilocybin is illegal mostly worldwide, but has been decriminalised in several cities in the US over the past few years (Mackenzie, 2021). However, Western countries such as Australia experience an overwhelming number of drug-related deaths that are caused by alcohol and tobacco – both legal drugs (Parliament of Australia, 2023). Meanwhile, LSD is classified as a narcotic worldwide, except for Australia. A 2007 study by Professor Nutt and colleagues proposed a ‘drug harm ranking’ that compares the harms caused by a range of drugs, legal as well as illegal. Specifically, alcohol is placed on rank five of the most harmful drugs right after heroin, cocaine, barbiturates and methadone. It is noticeable that alcohol and tobacco are ranked much higher than LSD and ecstasy which are ranked at 14 and 18 (Nutt et al, 2007). Professor Nutt criticises that alcohol and tobacco should not be seen as non-drugs. Therefore, Nutt et al. promote a relative approach that compares both, legal and illegal drugs, to not isolate only the illegal ones as it can lessen the harmful effects of legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco. They also recommend educating the public on relative harms, rather than just selected harms. I would argue that people simply don’t want to know about the harms of legal drugs as it is too comfortable not to. People are usually used to having a beer or a glass of wine in Western cultures. If it’s just that, the harms should not be too bad. However, people don’t need a prescription for alcohol or tobacco, unless they’re underage, which means that those legal drugs are always available in huge quantities. However, it is interesting that sugar is not listed within this table which may imply that sugar is not seen as a harmful drug per se. Can sugar not be harmful when consuming too much of it after an exhausting day? Sugar can possibly develop into an addiction too (Ahmed et al., 2013). Limited evidence shows that sugar activates the same reward and craving systems that addictive drugs induce. An evolutionary explanation can give insight. Within the evolutionary environment, humans have developed a preference for foods high in sugar and calories in order to survive. Today, we need to stop eating sugar in order to survive. Physical consequences, such as obesity, are known to decrease our health.

Overall, the same rule that applies to almost everything is that the potency makes the difference. If the dose of LSD is too high, unwanted effects, such as hallucinations, may arise. However, this should not be the case in clinical settings. The highly significant results of clinical trials investigating the effects of psychedelics, such as reducing anxiety and symptoms of PTSD, must be recognised. Maybe Australia only made the first step and more counties will consider using psychedelics to treat mental health disorders.  

References

Ahmed, S.H., Guillem, K., Vandaele, Y. (2013) ‘Sugar addiction: pushing the drug-sugar analogy to the limit’ Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care 16 (4), 434-439.

Carhart-Harris, R., Giribaldi, B., Watts, R., Baker-Jones, M. et al. (2021) ‘Trial of Psilocybin versus Escitalopram for Depression’ The New England Journal of Medicine; 384:1402-1411. Doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2032994  

Mackenzie, R.J. (2021) ‘An introduction to Five Psychedelics: Psilocybin, DMT, LSD, MDMA and KEtamine’ Technology Networks. Neuroscience News & Research. https://www.technologynetworks.com/neuroscience/articles/an-introduction-to-five-psychedelics-psilocybin-dmt-lsd-mdma-and-ketamine-355897

MAPS’ Phase 3 Trial of MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD Achieves Successful Results for Patients with Severe, Chronic PTSD. (2021)

Marseille E, Kahn JG, Yazar-Klosinski B, Doblin R. (2020) The cost-effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy fort he treatment of chronic, treatment-resistent PTSD. PLoS One 15(10): e0239997. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0239997

Minet, P. (2017) ‘The Swiss beginning of LSD’ Translation based on an article by Pascaline Minet published in Le Temps. https://houseofswitzerland.org/swisssttories/history/swiss-beginnings-lsd

Nutt, D., King, L.A., Saulsbury, W., Blakemore, C. (2007) ‘Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse’ The Lancet. Volume 369, Issue 9566, 24-30. Pg. 1047-1053. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60464-4

[sonatine]

throughout the whole series it’s established that the terms “my man” and “my girl” are reserved for romantic relationships

extremely interesting then that zeke freely uses the term my man for shaolin in a way that he never does for his other male friends

the get down parallels

[shaun-tgd]

1x01 | 3x05

[philcollinsenjoyer]

yes im thinking about it........... what of it

[okimargarvez]

Inside the mind of a genius

Other gif sets

[the-golden-dragoness]

So I’m watching Dragon’s Dogma right now and I’ve come to the decision that Ethan is just a more approachable version of Geralt. They even “hmm” the same way and it’s so funny

[ee-to-the-mah-to-the]

listened to we’re all in this together right after the get down vs. the notorious 3, so...

the end scene of hsm, but tgd characters are singing it 

[tomsmusictaste]

AS IT IS - Dial Tones // The Handwritten Letter

[mayapenelopeclutterbucket]

The Good Doctor | 2x03 “36 Hours”

Melendaire Paralells

[jnehopper-blog]

summary of shaun murphy:

 doesnt want love

 wants pancakes (only 4)

[superscanaries]

[chinzhilla-main]

i was tagged by a couple people (i know @bebecas and @cowboydiaz for sure but i think there were some others? sorry if i missed you!) to do a couple different 2021 round-ups, so i decided to do my 21 favorite creations from last year! 2021 was the year i started giffing, so it was interesting (and embarrassing kakjsdf) to go back and look at how i've grown as a creator over the year.

not going to tag anyone in particular but if we're mutuals please feel free to throw yours in my tracking tag (#userbon), which seems to be working now!!

here are my 21 favorite creations, in chronological order, with some director's commentary:

happy birthday dean winchester (january) - this was my first edit to perform pretty well and i think it holds up. i'm still happy with the coloring i was able to achieve considering how little i knew at that time

dean + john the revelator (april) - my first attempt at multiple gifs per canvas and again, i still think it looks pretty good. it was also my first time really playing around with typography, which has become one of my favorite parts of editing

destiel + tgd (may) - i rewatched the get down (which i will be bitter over FOREVER but that's not what this post is about) with my sister and as soon as zeke said 'calm almost like how god must be calm' i was like WAIT and then this was born

the rest is under the cut cause this got pretty long

buddie + the terrifying possibility of both (july) - ngl i actually think this is very ugly now BUT i was galaxy-brained for using this quote for them, and i think this is still my most popular buddie edit

destiel x reddie parallels (july) - this was a pretty niche post and i had several near-breakdowns making it but it reached its target audience and i was called evil for it so. a success.

buck + badass smartass etc (july) - speaks for itself. i also added dumbass which is not in the original because well. he is <3

cas + killer queen (july) - this was not a super difficult or involved edit but i'm really happy with the final product, particularly the typography

destiel + famous movie couples (august) - i think this is my favorite thing i've made this year in terms of concept. it took forever but it was so worth it

buddie + just say yes (august) - i was like i wanna make an edit using as many gifs and techniques as possible just to see how it turns out and then i did and it's busy and gaudy but that's my brand and i love it

athena and maddie for 911ww (august) - another set of very busy gifs but again i think it turned out super well. i may be the only one who likes my kitschy gifs but by god i will keep making them.

happy birthday supernatural (september) - if you're at all familiar with my editing style you know that i'm nearly incapable of just doing basic gifs because by god if i'm not putting myself through photoshop hell is it even worth it. so i decided for this ep that i was gonna play around with colors and typography and i liked it so much that that's just how i do episode edits now

on the head of a pin (september) - this one was pure experimentation (based on this incredible edit by cristina) and was super fun to make

buddie + jolene (september) - not to be too obnoxious but i really went off with that broken glass panel. AND i had to recolor m*gan w*st's eyes in the second one. AND it's just really well composed. this is one of my favorite edits i've ever made actually

buddie + can't fight this feeling pt. 2 (october) - the first panel is def my favorite of this one but i like all of it a lot (i'm also holding out on making the final part of this mini series for if when they go canon)

nov 5 edit (november) - this was not the vision i had for this edit and i was pretty frustrated with it by the time it was posted but the response to it was so positive that it really changed my opinion on it so thanks y'all!

buddie + hooked on a feeling (november) - similar to the killer queen edit this one isn't super complicated but i just think it turned out really pretty

merlin, the dragon's call (december) - i'm pretty sure this was my first edit for something other than spn or 9-1-1 and i really really love the last gif in particular

buck + the calendar amv (december) - my first amv! it took ages but was so satisfying and honestly i think it's fucking awesome. one of my favorite things i've ever done

buddie + paper rings amv (december) - so i had the idea to do this amv for my 9-1-1 secret santa gift back in early dec, which is why i made the calendar one in the first place, so i could learn how to make one with lower stakes. i think this one's just as good if not better and was arguably more fun to make since it didn't make me sad aksdjfkj

marvel x spn (december) - my last edit of 2021! i made like three different versions of all these gifs because i felt like nothing was working but i the finished product was worth it and the response has been very gratifying! a good edit to end the year on :)

[sonatine]

the get down + it’s windy in the galaxy tonight

[shaun-tgd]

1x13 | 3x09

[sketch--booked]

rant abbbooouuutt harumi

Dude, Harumi was amazing, both as a villain, a character, and I really approve of her realizing what she’s done after she sees that, what happened to her as a kid, is happening again because she refused to let go, refused to let anything but anger lead her. And then how she died, not only being watched by the resistance and Lloyd, but also drawing Garmadon’s last straw and making him snap.

She was able to bring out parts of a character that no one else had done, and managed to both directly and indirectly break my heart.

Her backstory was well done, and her personality reflected her past and her current actions so well. I’m glad that the show went in the rout of bringing an old event to the present, showing that there are always repercussions. Yes the ninja won when they defeated TGD, but even in season 2 it was acknowledged that it was truly Garmadon that had defeated the snake.

I will say, I know the reveal of Harumi was supposed to be shocking, but my over-analyzing brain kept picking it apart in a story sense, so I could already guess she was a bad guy the moment she sneaked out with Lloyd (I really approve of the giving to the poor thing. Not only was it quite a Robin Hood move, but she is also said royalty that would’ve been taking from the poor. I like my reverse parallels). However, I do like the way it was revealed and how Lloyd immediately understood he’d been lied to.

He didn’t do the bullshittery that is “No! It can’t be! I refuse to believe you were evil this wH ol E time?! And I never saw it!!” that I usually see. Instead we got to see that Lloyd aint yo average protag, slowly piecing it together and being more-so, shocked that she would go to such extremes of killing her royal family, and that really sent Harumi over the edge. But putting on the mask of hatred. Also makes ma just 😩👌

Perfection.

Her motives were a twisted sort of revenge but also naivety. She got her revenge on Lloyd, taking away everything precious to him as she believed they did to her, and she’s technically right.

Had Lloyd not released the Hypnobrai, TGD would’ve never been unleashed and Garmadon would not have been brought back by Wu to defeat it, meaning that the events of season 1-3 would never have happened (and likely 4, as Zane would have not died and they wouldn't have a drive to go to Chen’s tournament) and her bitter hatred towards him for this is entirely reasonable. 

You feel bad for her, especially when you see the nurses talking to her, and she’s just staring silently into nothing. You understand her on a personal level and makes you wonder if Lloyd really is a good guy? This is all his fault so why shouldn’t he be punished? He gets praised and loved for “saving” the city from destruction he caused. He get’s to be the green ninja and his sins are forgiven like pulling out a splinter.

I loved Harumi because she was a victim of circumstance, and all of it was caused by our so-called h e r o.

She only realized this was a bad idea after some preeety big red flags, and you see that she’s beginning to regret those actions slowly. And Mr. E’s death was so heartbreaking, not just for Harumi, since she did seem to have some care for him, but also because she looks right to Ultra Violet and I think Killow? And damn those two,, you can see that thay already are regretting what they did, they are already beginning to questions Garmadon and likely Harumi herself.

I really liked Harumi as a villain, she was interesting and deep, and her mental state is questionable, but the thing is--She’s not wrong... And that’s what’s terrifying. I loved her so much and I’m glad as well then S12 gives us that brif moment for Lloyd to face “Harumi” and finally get out his frustrations and get over her. It was still clear that in S13, Harumi still left an imprint on Lloyd and that’s what’s so amazing. She died, she is genuinely deceased and Lloyd saw it. But she still leaves and incredible weight and imprint on him.

.

It wasn’t really a rant and more just--- me gushing over how well she was writtenkgkhkh but damn bro she was wonderful, absolutely amazing start to post-movie Ninjago. ngl I was concerned for ninago after I had watched S1-7 and had been told that S8 took some things from the movie. But there was no disappointment. Epic Villain, deliciously dark, ngl the new designs are pretty tasty (jay’s freckles thoghghg), and a wonderful story. I also really liked how the ninja were dealing with the loss of Wu and them having to make it through ARGUABLY the worst fight of their loves, without him. She took advantage of that and I love it---

.

So I hoped you like my input, Harumi top tier villain and character, would mentally scar a child again--

[freemaagyemans]

1-5, 10-12 :)

What are your top 3 favorite sets you’ve made?1. Lydia Martin + Beacon Hills Preserve 2. This Breznick Set 3. My Goodbye Set to Hayley MarshallWhat is your least favorite set you’ve made?- This Half-ass Allyida set that puts shame to their friendshipWhich of your sets has the most notes?- This Martha Jones and Bill Potts parallel about traveling in the pastA set that flopped but deserved better?- Malia Tate + Yellow (worked so hard on it too)What is your favorite movie/TV show to gif?-I really loved giffing Teen Wolf scenes, but mostly for TGD atm.What was the first gif you ever posted?- Kelly Booth in San Junipero What is that one set you made that just won’t die?- This Misfits set of Nathan and CurtisWhat is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever giffed?Honestly…all my early gifsets.SEND ME A NUMBER!